Biratnagar, April 18: In a significant milestone for Nepal’s eye health sector, Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh in collaboration with Orbis International has set up a Digital Training Hub at Biratnagar Eye Hospital, operated under the Lahan Eye and Ear Health Care System. The facility was officially inaugurated amidst a special program in Biratnagar on Thursday.
Minister for Health of Koshi Province, Man Bahadur Limbu, alongside Kathleen A. Sherwin, President and CEO of Orbis International opened the service.
This is the first-of-its-kind digital training hub in Nepal, representing a significant shift from traditional teaching methods to technology-based modern medical education.
Equipped with advanced surgical simulators, wet lab facilities, virtual learning systems, and Cybersight-enabled global tele-mentoring, the hub will enable doctors and healthcare professionals to enhance their skills with greater safety, precision, and confidence. The training programmes under this initiative will include participation from eye hospitals, medical colleges, and professionals from both public and private health institutions across Nepal, as well as participants from international organizations.
The sessions will be facilitated by globally experienced experts in the field.
The center is expected not only to strengthen healthcare capacity but also to promote medical education tourism by attracting international trainees and reducing dependence on costly overseas training. With this, the Biratnagar Eye Hospital is expected to emerge as a leading regional and international training center.
According to Chief Administrator of the Lahan Eye and Ear Health Care System (LEECS), Sudhir Thakur, the network operates through two hospitals and more than 40 eye care centers, extending services from urban areas to remote communities. In 2025 alone, it provided more than 1.4 million eye care services, including over 132,000 sight-restoring surgeries and more than 764,000 community-based services.
Since its establishment, the system has delivered over 16.6 million services and performed nearly 2.5 million surgeries. The inaugural ceremony was attended by President of Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh, Prof. Dr. Chet Raj Pant; General Secretary Bharat Bahadur Chand; Executive Director Dr. Shailesh Kumar Mishra; Chairperson of Hospital Management Committee, Padma Narayan Chaoudhary and Country Director of Orbis International India, Rishi Raj Bohara, along with other distinguished guests and medical professionals.
The Digital Training Hub is expected to set new benchmarks for innovation, quality, and accessibility in Nepal’s eye care sector, making a significant contribution toward the reduction of preventable blindness.
